Monday, 7 July 2008

Dave Teo Ming seemed to be mouthing off alot last September, but perhaps he was just a little silenced today after his sentence came in.

Firstly, the National Serviceman who went AWOL, told his mate (also an NSman doubling up as a pimp), that he had taken the rifle and bullets from his camp to kill his ex-girlfriend and then to use it in a robbery.

He also told his platoon leader that he was going to use the rifle to kill five of his personal enemies because he hated them.

When passing down his sentence in the High Court, Deputy Public Prosceutor Peter Koy said, 'Fortunately, nothing disastrous occurred but a deterrent sentence was necessary to deter like-minded offenders,'

All up, Dave Teo Ming was sent to jail for nine years and two months and ordered to be caned 18 times.

He had previously pleaded guilty to having the rifle and eight bullets with him in a public toilet in Cathay CineLeisure at 8pm on Sept 3rd last year, and for being in possession of a 40cm-long knife on April 14th, while loitering around his ex-girlfriend's home.

Teo's lawyer, Mr K. Mathialahan, said that the NSMan had been suffering from depression after breaking up with his girlfriend of four years, in April last year, sparking his actions. He then asked the court to send Teo for reformative training instead of jail, because of his age and current mental state. Mr Mathialahan said that Teo was '...under a lot of emotional pressure and was very confused.'

Teo now claims that he never really wanted to hurt or kill his girlfriend. He just wanted to scare her, so that she might get back together with him... wonderful how hindsight works.

The court didn't pay much attention to this, as most criminals always seem remorseful when sentence is about to be imposed... I think perhaps all credit should go to the judicial system with this one!!! One less deranged homicidal maniac on the streets!!

Teo sparked a 20-hour manhunt on Sept 2, 2007, when he walked out of Mandai Hill camp with an SAR-21 rifle and eight rounds of bullets, and was finally tracked down to a toilet in a shopping mall the following day.

I thought your comments were harsh back in July, 2008 and in the four years since then, I haven't changed my mind. Every morning, Dave Teo wakes up in gaol, wondering if this is the day he'll be stripped naked and whipped like an animal. He was clearly out of his mind when he behaved so recklessly but which of us haven't been driven crazy by someone we loved. O.K. we don't go out of our minds like Dave Teo did but maybe he's more sensitive. Maybe he hurts more than we do. And if he's taken his eighteen lashes, he'll know all about hurting. The Singapore cane is nothing like the ones we got used to during our school days. It's a heavy, vicious piece of goods that tears into the flesh of a prisoner's arse. The pain it delivers is so severe it makes tough men scream and beg for mercy. I agree, there are evil types who deserve no less. But do you really believe this lovesick kid was a homicidal maniac? Read Aussie Bob Syme and New Zealander Aaron Cohen's descriptions of their six stroke canings for drug possession. Bob described his lashing as 'out of this world pain'. And remember,Dave Teo was sentenced to three times as many strokes of the cane as Aaron or Bob. Add to that the shame of carrying scars across your arse for the rest of your life. Imagine your partner seeing them or your kids and their mates asking about them when you take them swimming. Do you really think Dave Teo's crime was so serious that he deserved scarring for life?If Dave hasn't been caned,the punishment should be cancelled or reduced. If he has already been caned, he should be released. The kid has had enough. He's paid a heavy price for his brief act of madness. Punishing him further will achieve nothing.